Wild melon: a novel non-edible feedstock for bioenergy

In the present research work, a non-edible oil source Cucumis melo var. agrestis(wild melon) was systematically identified and studied for biodiesel production and its characterization. The extracted oil was 29.1% of total dry seed weight. The free fatty acid value of the oil was found to be 0.64%, and the single-step alkaline transesterification method was used for conversion of fatty acids into their respective methyl esters. The maximum conversion efficiency of fatty acids was obtained at 0.4 wt% Na OH(used as catalyst), 30%(methanol to oil, v/v) methanol amount, 60 ℃ reaction temperature,600-rpm agitation rate and 60-min reaction time. Under these optimal conditions, the conversion efficiency of fatty acid was 92%. However, in the case of KOH as catalyst, the highest conversion(85%) of fatty acids was obtained at 40%methanol to oil ratio, 1.28 wt% KOH, 60 ℃ reaction temperature, 600-rpm agitation rate and 45 min of reaction time.Qualitatively, biodiesel was characterized through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) and gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy(GC–MS). FTIR results demonstrated a strong peak at 1742 cm~(-1), showing carbonyl groups(C=O)of methyl esters. However, GC–MS results showed the presence of twelve methyl esters comprised of lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, non-decanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, octadecadienoic acid and octadecynoic acid. The fuel properties were found to fall within the range recommended by the international biodiesel standard, i.e., American Society of Testing Materials(ASTM): flash point of 91 ℃, density of 0.873 kg/L, viscosity of 5.35 c St, pour point of-13 ℃, cloud point of-10 ℃, total acid number of 0.242 mg KOH/g and sulfur content of 0.0043 wt%. The present work concluded the potential of wild melon seed oil as excellent non-edible source of bioenergy.     

Pollen morphological investigations of family Cactaceae and its taxonomic implication by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy

The family Cactaceae is the diversified group of angiosperm plants whose pollen statistics has been used for taxonomic identification. In this article, we present the pollen morphology of eight species belong to seven taxonomically complex genera of Cactaceae including Astrophytum, Cylindropuntia, Echinocereus, Echinopsis, Mammillaria, Opuntia, and Thelocactus using light and scanning electron microscopy. The pollen grains were acetolyzed, measured, described, and electron photomicrographs were taken. Cactaceae can be characterized by presenting different palynomorphological features including pollen type, sculpturing, polar and equatorial diameter, aperture orientation, exine thickness, P/E ratio, and echini features. Four types of pollen shapes, that is, prolate spheroidal (three species), subprolate (two species), prolate (two species), and oblate spheroidal in Echinocereus reichenbachii were observed. The polar and equatorial diameter observed maximum in O. ficus indica 116.95 and 112.27 μm while minimum in M. compressa 38.42 and 21.05 μm. Pollen of two types, tricolpate in members of subfamily Cactioideae and pantoporate in the Opuntioideae were examined. The fertility percentage has been observed maximum in Opuntia macrocentra (83.84%) and minimum in Opuntia ficus‐indica (57.89%). Exine sculpturing showing great variations such as granulate, reticulate, granulate perforate and micro‐echinate foveolate ornamentation was examined only in Echinopsis eyriesii. A key to species, based on pollen micromorphological attributes, has been constructed for correct identification of complex cactus species.     

Micromorphology,pharmacognosy, and bio‐elemental analysis of an important medicinal herb: Verbascum thapsus L.

The present study was conducted on characterization of morpho‐anatomical, phytochemical, and bio‐elemental analysis of root, stem, and leaf of Verbascum thapsus. Morphologically Verbascum is a biennial plant that flowers for a month and a half in mid‐ to late summer. Various organoleptic features of root, leaf, and stem were recorded. Anatomically the T. S of the root, stem, and leaf showed a typical dicot histological differentiation. Leaf possessed anomocytic stomata, crescent shape vascular bundles, and covered with long and stellate type trichomes while, stem contained collateral type of vascular bundles and a well‐developed pith to store phytochemicals responsible for various pharmacological activities. The powder drug study through scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of various types of tissues. Branched, tree like and stellate trichomes in root and leaf help in absorption and reduce loss of water. These anatomical features are responsible for the survival of the plant as biennial. Four macro elements (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) and seven microelements (Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn, and Cd) and their concentrations in ppm were also studied using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Phytochemical screening of methanolic extract showed existence of various secondary metabolites, while mucilage and anthraquinones was not detected. The present study helps to understand the taxonomic identification of the plant based on morpho‐anatomical features and throws the attention of the researchers to carry out the work for developing its various formulations, which can ultimately be beneficial for the human beings as well as animals.     

The effect of solvent on postcuring in free radical photopolymerization

During free radical photopolymerization, with an increasing degree of conversion, the viscosity increased and vitrification occurred. The unreacted double bonds had difficulty diffusing to the reactive site in the vitrifying polymer. However, the free radicals generated in the vitrifying matrix could survive for a long time. Thus, the postcuring process occurred. In this study, free radical photopolymerization kinetics of methacrylate with or without solvent was investigated by real‐time FTIR, which was combined with a heating device. Results showed that without solvent, postcuring occurred only by heating at a higher temperature than the glass transition temperature of the polymer. However, with solvent, the postcuring occurred even at room temperature, where only a small amount of solvent was enough to cause postcuring. The lifespan of the free radicals inside the polymer was over 10 h. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44223.     

Influence and mechanism of dissolved oxygen on the performance of Ammonia-Oxidation Microbial Fuel Cell

Based on inorganic fuel, an Ammonia-Oxidation Microbial Fuel Cell (AO-MFC) had been developed, and the influence and mechanism of dissolved oxygen (DO) on the performance of nitrification and electricity generation were investigated. The results showed that the maximum conversion percentage of ammonium–nitrogen (NH₄⁺–N) was 99.7%. The output voltage and the power density were 98.5 ± 1.41 mV and 9.70 ± 0.27 mW m⁻² in the stable phase of electricity generation. In the AO-MFC, the electrons originated from ammonia and flowed to ammonia monooxygenase (AMO, which catalyzes the conversion of ammonia to hydroxylamine), Cyt aa₃ oxidase (which catalyzes the reduction of oxygen) and electrode, which were used for triggering ammonia oxidation, synthesizing ATP and generating electricity. Molecular oxygen played a key role in the electron distribution among these three acceptors. DO concentration too high (>6.45 mg L⁻¹) or too low (<0.5 mg L⁻¹) could exert a great negative influence on the performance of electricity generation.     

An Approximate Analysis of Buffered S-ALOHA in Fading Channels Using Tagged User Analysis

Tagged user analysis (TUA) is a generic approximate method of analyzing random access protocols for finite-user finite-buffer systems. This technique decouples the channel contention behavior from the user queuing behavior and allows the use of classical queuing theory results to be directly applicable to the analysis of finite-user finite-buffer random access methods. In this paper, we extend TUA to analyze finite buffer S-ALOHA operating over flat fading radio channels and derive expressions for system performance indices like throughput, average packet delay, blocking probability and queue length. It is shown that for a moderate number of active users, the simulation and analytical results fit closely     

Image-driven virtual simulation of arthroscopy

In recent years, minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery has replaced a number of conventional open orthopedic surgery procedures on joints. While this achieves a number of advantages for the patient, the surgeons have to learn very different skills, since the surgery is performed with special miniature pencil-like tools and cameras inserted through little incisions while observing the surgical field on video monitor. Therefore, virtual reality simulation becomes an alternative to traditional surgical training based on hundreds years old apprentice–master model that involves either real patients or increasingly difficult to procure cadavers. Normally, 3D simulation of the virtual surgical field requires significant efforts from the software developers but yet remains not always photorealistic. In contrast to this, for photorealistic visualization and haptic interaction with the surgical field we propose to use real arthroscopic images augmented with 3D object models. The proposed technique allows for feeling the joint cavity displayed on video monitor as real 3D objects rather than their images while various surgical procedures, such as menisectomy, are simulated in real time. In the preprocessing stage of the proposed approach, the arthroscopic images are stitched into panoramas and augmented with implicitly defined object models representing deformable menisci. In the simulation loop, depth information from the mixed scene is used for haptic rendering. The scene depth map and visual display are reevaluated only when the scene is modified.     

Adaptive Automated Teller Machines

Nowadays, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) provide significant online support to bank customers. A limitation of ATM usage is that customers often have to wait in a queue, especially at ATMs installed at busy locations. Also, old people tend to consume more ATM usage time, possibly frustrating customers in the queue. In these situations, ATMs should “adapt” to the behavior of the customers to minimize the usage time. To this end, we apply data mining techniques to an ATM transaction dataset obtained from an international bank based in Kuwait. We pre-process this dataset, and convert it into a specific XML format to mine it through the ProM (process mining) tool. Our results reveal that customers withdraw money most frequently, followed by purchases (through an ATM card) and balance inquiry transactions. Customers re-do these transactions frequently, and also employ them one after the other. We acquire the distributions of the withdrawn amount, based on individual customers, the location (ATM terminal) and time of the withdrawl. Based on these results, we have proposed a set of five adaptive ATM interfaces, which show only frequent transactions and frequently-withdrawn amounts, display the current balance autonomously, and query explicitly for viewing purchase history, or for performing another withdrawl. An online survey on 216 ATM customers reveals that a majority of customers are willing to use these interfaces for minimizing their usage time. Our work has been approved by the banking authority of Pakistan, and we are currently implementing our interfaces for a Pakistani bank.     

An integrated approach for groundwater potential zoning in shallow fracture zone aquifers

This study presents an integrated approach for the identification of groundwater occurrences in shallow fracture zone (SFZ) aquifers using remote-sensing, geological, and geophysical data. The Central Eastern Desert of Egypt was selected as a test site for the present study. The distribution of major faults and shear zones was extracted from a fusion image generated by injecting high-spatial resolution phased array L-band synthetic aperture radar (PALSAR) images into Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper images. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) digital elevation model was processed to extract the drainage systems, slope, and topographic wetness index (TWI). The multidate PALSAR imagery acquired during rainy and dry seasons was used to estimate the relative soil moisture content. The lithology, fractures, drainage density, slope, TWI, and soil moisture content were used as thematic layers for groundwater occurrence in the SFZ aquifers. A GIS model of groundwater potential was developed by selecting the most probable locations for groundwater in each layer. The results indicate that the spatial distribution of the existing water wells is in agreement with the model where all wells fall in the regions of high groundwater potential zones. A geophysical survey was conducted using ground penetrating radar (GPR), indicating that the high groundwater potential zones are promising for drilling shallow wells. The adopted approach can be used as a cost-effective tool for groundwater exploration in the SFZ aquifers in the study area and in areas of similar geologic and hydrogeologic settings elsewhere.